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tokyo_babylon
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Name: Seth
Birthday: 10/27/1984
Gender: Male
Interests: DiabloII, cars, PS2, computers, controversy, world destruction, swords(japanese), anime(Hellsing right now), Counter Strike, paintball, and most of all friends
Expertise: Japanese swords and how to use them, computers (hardware mostly and few programs), cars (Imports only), and certain Martial Arts
Occupation: Student
Industry: Computers (Hardware)
Message: message meEmail: email me
Website: visit my website
AIM:  ErabuSatsujin
Yahoo:  kage5045
Member Since:
10/10/2004
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| One ninja warrior who wielded superstition like a fine sword was 12th century samurai hero Yoshitsune, who did nothing to stop the spread of stories that he'd been schooled by tengu demons. Yoshitsune founded the kurama-hachi school of martial arts responsible for teaching the guerilla (i.e. ninjutsu) tactics that helped his Minimoto clan defeat their enemies. Through Yoshitsune's efforts, his brother Yoritomo became Japan's first shogun in 1192. No sooner had Yoritomo ascended to power than he began killing anyone he imagined posed a threat to his absolute rule. A superstitious paranoid, Yoritomo performed daily cleansing rituals designed to prevent the angry ghosts of those he'd killed from returning to haunt him. Eventually Yoritomo turned to killing even those loyal to him, and Yoshitsune was forced to flee. Some say Yoshitsune was eventually murdered by Yoritomo's agents, others that Yoshitsune committed hari-kiri rather than be taken captive. According to shinobi lore however, Yoshitsune used his ninja skills to escape to China, but not before getting revenge against his evil brother. Shortly after Yoshitsune's reported death, small, inexplicable incidents began happening to Yoritomo. Objects belonging to his dead brother began appearing and often Yoritomo would hear Yoshitsune's voice from behind a screen, yet when the screen was jerked aside no one was there! Yoritomo, an accomplished rider, died in 1198 after a fall from his horse. Critically injured, the shogun lingered in agony for days and died screaming to his last breathe that he had been attacked by the ghost of his dead brother! Shinobi lore tells it this way: Yoshitsune first faked his death and then began harassing his brother by making Yoritomo believe he was being haunted by the restless ghost of the brother he had unjustly killed. This campaign culminated in the "ghost" of Yoshitsune suddenly "materializing" before his already frazzled brother during Yoritomo's evening ride. | | |
| There once lived an old sword master in Kyushu who was about to retire from teaching Kenjutsu. He had three sons and before he retired, he had to select on as his successor. So he invited his best friend to his house to help with the election. Upon the arrival of his friend, as was the custom in those days, he invited him to have a cup of tea. While they were drinking their tea and talking, they decided to play a small game with the three sons as a sort of test of their martial arts training as well as their physical abilitiy. They placed a large heavy pillow above the door to their quarters so that when the door opened the pillow would fall and hit the person who entered. Upon completion of this task they made ready and the father called out to his youngest son to come to his aid. After about two or three minutes with no response, the father called out again, and in a loud voice the son answered, "Just a minute, Father." The father and his guest smiled at each other while sipping their tea. In a few minutes the son came to the door, opened it and stepped in. At the moment he entered the room down came the heavy pillow. But before it could land on his head, the young man jumped aside drawing his sword with lightning speed, cutting the pillow in half. Then after looking all around the room with sword in hand waiting for further action and feeling that the danger had passed, he replaced the sword in the sheath and kicked the two halves of the pillow out of the way. He then bowed to the guest and then to his father asking what his father wanted with him. The father intorduced him to the best friend saying, "This is my youngest son. As you can see he is as fast as the hunting falcon." Dismissing the youngest son, he instructed him not to say a word about what had happened to his brothers. They ten called for the next son. The next oldest son did not respond immediately, but it was not necesssary to call him the second time. Arriving at the door, the son knocked and upon hearing his father reply, slid the door open and stepped in. Again, a heavy pillow came crashing down. The young man reached for his sword, but, instead of drawing, he caught the pillow in his hands. Turning his head to his father with a bewildered look, he replaced the pillow above the door. Bowing to his father's friend and then his father, he asked what service he could be to them. The father intorduced him saying, "This is my middle son, he has the eyes and calmness of a tiger before the kill." Instructing this son as the one before, they called for the eldest. Now the oldest son came at once and knocked on the door. The father called to him to enter but the door did not move. After a second or two the father again bade him enter. This time the oldest son slid the door open about a foot, smiling through the doorway at his father and his father's friend. The son reached up through the doorway, took the pillow down, stepped through the doorway and replaced the pillow above the door. Turning to his father's guest, the son gave him a long and low bow, then turned to his father and also bowed. At this the father remarked to his friend. "This is my son Kira, he is almost as wise as I. We think we are different only because we agree to think so." The friend bowed to the oldest son and said, "You have learned your lessons very well; you are surely your father in his youth. Your father has been the needle, and you the thread. Now you have become the needle." At this the friend bowed again, said his farewells, and departed. | | |
| One of Japan's greatest swordsman was Tsukahara Bokuden(1490-1572), who had a great depth into invincibility without drawing the sword. When Bokuden was crossing Beira in a rowboat, with a number of passengers there was a braggart among them, a rough-looking Samurai, arrogant and stalwart in every possible way. He boasted of his skill in swordsmanship, saying that he was the forremost man in the art. The fellow passengers were eagerly listening to his blatant talk, while Bokuden was dozing as if nothing were going on about him. This irritated the braggart very much. He approched Bokuden and shook him saying, "You also carry a pair of swords, why not say a word?" Bokuden answered quietly, "My art is different from yours; it consists not of defeating others, but in not being defeated." This incensed the fellow immensely. "What is your school then?" "Mine is known as the Mutekatsu school (which means to defeat the enemy without hands, that is, without using a sword)." "Why, then, do you yourself carry a sword?" asked the Samurai. "This is meant to do away with selfish motives and not to kill others," answered Bokuden. The man's anger knew no bounds, and he exclaimed in a most impassioned manner, "Do you really mean to fight me with no swords?" "Why not?" was Bokuden's answer. The braggart Samurai called to the boatman to row toward the nearest land. But Bokuden suggested that it would be better to go to the island farther off because the mainland might attract people who might somehow get hurt. The Samurai agreed. The boat headed toward the solitary island at some distance. As soon as they were near enough, the man jumped off the boat and drawing his sword, was all ready for combat. Bokuden liesurely took off his own swords and handed them to the boatman. To all appearance he was about to follow the Samurai onto the island, when Bokuden suddenly took the oar away from the boatman and pushing it against the land, gave a hard backstroke to the boat. There upon, the boat made a precipitous departure from the island and into the deeper water safely away from the man. Bokuden smilingly remarked, "This is my 'No Sword School.'" | | |
| I just created a new website about rc cars www.freewebs.com/erabu
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| Well it certainly has been a long time and I am extremely bored and exhausted at the same time. I just want this semester to be over so I can be done math thought and cal3. Morning math classes bite butt . I've had enough of my room mate too, this is injustice of the highest level. | | |
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